Ottavi Mare

The story

Ottavi Mare, Bevagna (Foligno) – Contemporary Seafood in Umbria | Wattafork

Ottavi Mare: The Sea Seen from the Countryside

In the medieval hill town of Bevagna, one of Italy’s most beautiful borghi, chef Vittorio Ottavi runs a small, intimate restaurant that reimagines seafood from an inland perspective. Ottavi Mare is the realisation of a chef who never left his Umbrian roots but whose mind has always been drawn to the sea.

Vittorio Ottavi grew up in the kitchen of his father’s traditional meat-focused osteria. His great-grandfather was a renowned porchetta master. But the flavours of childhood holidays in Le Marche – the Adriatic coast – left a deeper mark. Entirely self-taught, Ottavi began studying fish preparation techniques, eventually turning his back on the region’s carnivorous tradition to focus on the sea. In 2014, he moved his restaurant from the periphery of Bevagna to the ground floor of a Renaissance palazzo, just steps from the main piazza. It was both a physical and metaphorical shift.

The dining room is a quiet, elegant refuge. Soft lighting and essential details create a calm atmosphere that lets the food speak. The restaurant’s name and philosophy are captured in the tagline: "Materia & mare oltre la tradizione" – matter and sea beyond tradition.

A Contemporary Italian Kitchen

Ottavi’s cooking is contemporary Italian, deeply rooted in seafood but with a distinctive inland sensibility. His recent research has moved towards treating fish like meat, employing marinades, ageing, and dry-aging techniques usually reserved for land proteins. The results are dishes where marine ingredients dialogue with local legumes, herbs, and Umbrian produce.

The menu is organised into three tasting paths. Il Mare Visto dalla Campagna (The Sea Seen from the Countryside) is the most direct expression of this philosophy, with dishes such as an oyster reinterpreted with Valnerina flavours, or a calamaretto alla brace with cuttlefish liver, pepper and bay. Contaminazioni (Contaminations) is a bolder, more vibrant journey that fuses Eastern and Mediterranean influences – look for mackerel with miso, beetroot and wasabi, or a spaghetto "mare d'oriente." I Crudi is an essential, pure celebration of raw seafood, from amberjack battuto alla Puttanesca to a scallop crudo with crème fraîche and red prawn.

Recognition from the Guides

This singular vision has earned Ottavi Mare a place in the Michelin Guide selection for 2026, as well as two forks from Gambero Rosso and two caps from Le Guide de l’Espresso that same year. The recognition confirms what the restaurant’s regulars already know: in the heart of Umbria, Vittorio Ottavi has created one of Italy’s most compelling destinations for contemporary seafood.